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Diel feeding strategy during breeding in male Barn Owls (Tyto alba)

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Abstract

During reproduction, birds are confronted with two requirements: building up their energetic reserves during the activity period, and provisioning the nest. Storing reserves imposes a higher flight cost and a lower hunting efficiency. This conflict is accentuated in species such as the Barn Owl (Tyto alba), where the nest food supply is entirely taken in charge by the male during a long period (ca. 37 days). We tested the prediction that Barn Owl males were postponing their meal to the end of the night in order to fly with a low body mass. Nocturnal changes in body mass (i.e., estimates of feeding events) were monitored remotely on six free-ranging Barn Owl pairs nesting in eastern France using an automated weighing system. Male Barn Owls were gaining the more weight at the end of the night, supporting the prediction that they make their biggest meal after the nest provisioning activities hunting period that is taking place at the beginning of the night.

Zusammenfassung

Nahrungsaufnahmestrategie männlicher Schleiereulen ( Tyto alba ) im Verlauf der Nacht während des Brütens

Während der Fortpflanzung haben Vögel zwei Bedürfnisse: ihre eigenen Energiereserven während der Aktivitätsperiode aufzubauen und ihre Brut zu versorgen. Das Speichern von Reserven erhöht die Flugenergiekosten für die Vögel und beeinträchtigt ihre Effizienz bei der Jagd. Dieser Konflikt ist besonders ausgeprägt bei Arten wie der Schleiereule (Tyto alba), bei der das Männchen über einen langen Zeitraum (ca. 37 Tage) allein für die Versorgung der Brut verantwortlich ist. Wir haben die Vorhersage getestet, dass männliche Schleiereulen erst am Ende der Nacht selbst fressen, um mit niedriger Körpermasse fliegen zu können. Nächtliche Veränderungen der Körpermasse (d.h. Schätzungen von Nahrungsaufnahmeereignissen) wurden bei sechs frei lebenden, in Ostfrankreich brütenden Schleiereulen-Paaren mit Hilfe eines automatischen Wägesystems aus der Ferne überwacht. Die Körpermasse der Männchen nahm am Ende der Nacht stärker zu, was die Vorhersage stützt, dass sie größere Nahrungsmengen erst zu sich nehmen, nachdem sie zu Beginn der Nacht Nahrung für ihre Brut erbeutet haben.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported financially by the French Ministère de l’Environnement, Service de la Recherche des Etudes et du Traitement de l’Information sur l’Environnement, France. The experiments were done in compliance with current French laws and after acceptance by French authorities (authorisation of the Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche n° 04196). We thank C. Plumeré and J.-P Gendner for her help in developing the automatic nest, and M. Bertrand and B. Bertrand for the maintenance of the system. We are grateful to J. Lage of Jensen Software Systems (http://jensen-software.com) for his computer expertise. JMD and D.Ø.H thank CEES/University of Oslo for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Joël M. Durant

  2. Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalléen 21, 0349, Oslo, Norway

    Dag Ø. Hjermann

  3. Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), 23 rue Becquerel, 67087, Strasbourg Cedex 02, France

    Yves Handrich

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  1. Joël M. Durant
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  2. Dag Ø. Hjermann
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  3. Yves Handrich
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Correspondence to Joël M. Durant.

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Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Durant, J.M., Hjermann, D.Ø. & Handrich, Y. Diel feeding strategy during breeding in male Barn Owls (Tyto alba). J Ornithol 154, 863–869 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-013-0956-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-013-0956-1

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